Blog

The new exhibition, Recordings & Observations: Drawings and Paintings by Lee John Phillips and Diana Brook was officially opened at Tenby Museum and Art Gallery by Lynne Crompton, Gallery Manager of Narberth’s Oriel Queens Hall on Sunday 11 October.

The exhibition features over 40 works by these two talented artists. Diana says of her work displayed in the gallery, “This series of paintings concentrates on the aesthetics of the most ordinary objects, ones that we might see every day and where we fail to notice the shape, surface, colour or light. I have enjoyed promoting the humble cup to the centrepiece of a simple painting or recording how light falls on a glass bottle. The paintings are purposely simple resulting in a pure image free form any complications or distractions…I think that pretty much sums up the whole body of my work: making the ordinary extraordinary.”

Lee has several bodies of work represented in the exhibition including a series entitled ‘He who casts the first stone’ which, through omitting sections of the picture , encourage the viewer to complete the image and ‘The Things you miss when you don’t look up’ which is a series of paintings and drawings started by recording rooftops in sketchbooks and travel journals and which allows Lee to “find peace and solitude in the busiest of places, simply by looking up.” There are also works from his vast Shed Project of which he says, “I am currently in the process of visually cataloguing the entire contents of my late grandfather’s tool shed. I estimate there to be around 100,000 items in total and have currently completed close to 4,500…I am completing the majority of work in A4 sketchbooks and where possible, I work to scale. Larger objects are drawn in A3 books or loose sheet if necessary”

Both Lee and Diana have included examples of their sketchbooks in the show, and which they encourage to visitor to pick up and browse. Lee calls sketching “one of the most important elements of my work and an invaluable creative discipline” and Diana says, “The sketchbooks are such a precious possession…they record moments of my life, the places and the people. In 2013 I embarked on the mission of recording a drawing a day and have so far kept up to date.”

In her opening speech, Lynne Crompton said, “I have great respect for these two – they both teach at the art department in Sir Thomas Picton School which has achieved an excellent reputation thanks mainly to their hard work, enthusiasm and talent. They had to work hard to complete the images on the wall after a hard days teaching! The skill and craftsmanship within the works is vast and they know precisely how to use their materials. I would like to congratulate them on their wonderful show.”

The sales exhibition runs until Saturday 21 November. For further details please contact the museum on 01834 842809.